Change is still the constant of life
I wake up to the sound of my alarm ringing loudly from under my pillow. I groan and mumble incoherent words to myself, still half asleep.
“Harida”, my mom shouts in my ear. “It’s almost 6am; your bus will soon arrive, stand up and prepare for school”
I wake up with another groan. “Ok mom.” School is something I am never eager to hear. I hate school so much not because I have a problem with my teachers or my academics but because I have a problem with the students in it except my best friends. I hastily stand up from my bed and check the clock beside my bed to find out that the time is 5:20am which gives me forty minutes to get ready. I thank God that my brother, Chuks is not going to school today because they are going for an excursion today and daddy and mommy refused to let him go with his mates. They were only given a week-long holiday for the Salah so they resumed since last week unlike me.
I have ironed my uniform last night so all I have to do is take my bath, brush my teeth and eat breakfast.
It’s almost 6am when I was done. I woke my little brother a while ago so that he can take his bath before our parents wake up to find him still asleep. They believe that every young human being is supposed to be awake before 6:00am which is really not true. Chuks is just seven years old so he needs as much sleep as he can get but my parents do not agree to this
I am sure that my bag is packed when I go to my parents’ room and knock on their door.
“Yes?” My dad answers from the other side of the door.
“Good morning sir, I am done preparing for school and was wondering if you and mummy will come so we can pray”, I say uncertainly. I have been more humble and respectful since Saturdays’ incident. I am not ready for a repeat of events yet.
“OK, we are coming.” My dad answers.
I go back to the living room and wait for them. After we finished praying, they go back to their room. After a while, I hear the sound of my bus honking, “Mom, Dad. I am going”, I say as I start rushing to the gate.
“Ok”, they both grumble before I entered the bus and shut the door behind me
$$$
When I get to school, I immediately go to my class room because senior student are no more allowed to partake in the assembly because of the upcoming exams. I pull my schedule for this session and rush down the hallway to the fourth floor where my class is being held. My school believes that the higher the class you are, the higher your classroom should be.
When I get there, I am breathing heavily from the flight of stairs I just climbed. I rush into the classroom and everyone’s attention shifts from the teacher to me.
“Good morning, Mr. Austin”, I say with a cheeky smile.
“Good morning, Harida. How have you been preparing for your exams?” he asks.
“Everything has been going just fine”, I answer. Yes! WAEC is in exactly seven days’ time. Even though all my teachers have assured me that with my grades and intelligence, I am going to ace my WAEC, I still can’t stop feeling nervous. The funny thing is that all my classmates are studying really hard since the beginning of senior year for this exams and I haven’t even started studying but I guess I have nothing to worry about because with my high score in JAMB and a little effort put in my upcoming WAEC, I would probably gain admission into the university of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Mr. Austin turns back to the class indicating that he is done with the conversation so I step into the class and proceed to my seat. After a few minutes, the bell is rung for our next class which is free because no one is offering food and nutrition in science class.
“So I guess it’s time for me to leave. Just keep it in mind that mathematics isn’t hard if you open your mind to it. If you have any topic that you do not understand, do not hesitate to ask me before your exams or you can also meet Chidubem Okonkwo or Harida Azubuike to teach you. This will be our last class before your exams so I wish you the best in your WAEC exams”, Mr. Austin advises.
The whole class is filled with ‘Amen’ and ‘thank you’. When he leaves the class, everybody start chatting with their friends on how their two-week Salah holiday went. I stand up from my seat and started walking towards my three best friends.
“Dubem and his crew”, I tease when I reached their table.
“Hey Harida”, Ifeanyi says.
“Sweetie, you look…well, like Harida”, Olamide bursts out laughing from his own miserable joke.
“Harida, where is my Salah meat?” Dubem says with an amused smile.
“Why can’t you guys be normal for once and just respond to my greeting? And Dubem, am I a Muslim that is celebrating Salah?” I mutter annoyed my best friends’ stupidity.
“Normal is overrated”, Ifeanyi says
“And pretty boring”, Dubem adds.
“And you guys are the most annoying people I know on this earth. I am still wondering how I keep up with you guys”, I say trying to look annoyed but failing miserably. I really missed these three brainless humans I call friends.
“But you still love us and I advise you to stop wondering because you are never going to find out”, Olamide says.
“Anyways, how is preparation for WAEC going, can you imagine that I haven’t started studying”, I tell them.
“Hmmm, that is what you always say but when results come out, you will still come out with A’s and B’s as one of the best so if you like say what you like but I won’t still believe you”, Olamide says in an accusing tone.
“Don’t mind her. If you follow her, she will just pass and leave you behind”, Ifeanyi says throwing a fake glare.
I just laugh because no matter how many times I try to tell them that I am actually telling the truth, they will never believe me. There are different people in this world and I am luckily among those people that just need to glimpse at something once or twice before I grasp it. Yeah, I am that good. I am not much of a reader when it comes to academic work so am secretly glad that I don’t need to study much to learn something. I am more of a ‘mathematics person’. My favorite subjects are further mathematics, physics and chemistry.
Ifeanyi is my closest friend out of my three best friends. He is easy-going, fun to be with, a great guy and also really cute. He is not as intelligent as the rest of us but still comes out as top ten in our class. He is everybody’s friend and never takes anything seriously. He is sixteen years old. His mom is never around because she is always travelling for her business so he usually stays with his dad and siblings.
Chidubem is super intelligent, the school’s golden boy. He is good in all subjects but better in mathematics, physics and chemistry. He is really confident in himself but not cocky. He loves calculation just like me so we do a lot of reading together. He is also a great friend when you get to know him and a really great adviser when you have problems. I once told him to be a psychologist but he just laughed it off and said it’s not just his dream. He has a very big family with seven siblings; a sister and six brothers.
Lastly, Olamide is a nice person but also really cocky. He is a biology masterpiece and his dream is to be a neurologist and to be better than the reputable Ben Carson. He has huge dreams but I believe that if he keeps his focus, he will be able to achieve it. He is also a ladies man. He is gorgeous, tall and a little bit muscular so girls can’t help but fall for him. I pity those girls though because he is never serious with any of them. He is also sixteen which makes me the youngest because I am barely fifteen years old.
I am also the youngest in my class but you wouldn’t know because I am really tall, 6ft to be specific and really chubby. Most people say I look older than my age but I just shrug it off as usual.
The guys and I continued our conversation till the teacher for the next class arrived and we had to go back to our seats.